←
Lesson 27 · The speed of sound
331.3, plus a little for warmth
score 0

331.3, plus a little for warmth

Sound has no fixed speed — it borrows one from the air. In dry air the rule is v=331.3+0.606 Tv = 331.3 + 0.606\,T — the speed vv in m/s, and TT the air temperature in °C. Careful with that letter: last lesson TT was a period in seconds, and here it is a temperature. The formula tells you which. So 331.3 m/s on a freezing day, and about six-tenths of a metre per second more for every degree above. Room temperature lands near 343 m/s. Warmer molecules pass the message faster — that is the whole story.

Then the classic exam wound: the echo. A shout that bounces off a cliff crosses the gap TWICE — out and back — so the wall stands at d=v t2d = \dfrac{v\,t}{2}, never v tv\,t, with dd the one-way distance in metres and tt the whole out-and-back time in seconds. Thunder is the opposite trap: the lightning's flash arrives essentially instantly, the rumble makes the trip once, and no ÷2 is invited. Read the journey before you divide.

vT

v=331.3+0.606 TCv = 331.3 + 0.606\, T_C

  • vv= Speed of sound (speed)
  • TT= Air temperature (temperature)
Speed of Sound in Air solver →
vtd

v=dtv = \tfrac{d}{t}

  • vv= Speed (speed)
  • dd= Distance (length)
  • tt= Time (time)
Speed, Distance & Time solver →